1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the oligosaccharides, namely extracted from plants, and more particularly to the use of these oligosaccharides in the cosmetic or dermatological field.
The invention relates more particularly to a cosmetic or dermatological use of the neutral oligosaccharides extracted from flaxseed and a method for producing oligosaccharides for example after hydrolysis and fractionation of a solution of mucilage.
In particular, the neutral oligosaccharides extracted from flaxseed can namely be used to promote skin tissue repair and also to prevent the effects of skin aging.
Skin repair consists of a set of processes implemented with a view to repair damage or injury suffered by the skin and to reconstruct a tissue close to the original tissue being damaged.
Skin aging, in turn, is responsible for the modification of the anatomical and histological structures and the alteration of the cell functioning.
Skin aging results from several factors, namely a cell alteration, for example due to oxidative stress, but also from external factors such as pollution, tobacco or alcohol consumption, excessive exposure to sunlight, etc.
Skin aging results into the appearance of wrinkles and dark spots—generally brown—and a decrease in skin tonus.
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 37 CFR 1.98.
The prior art provides a number of strategies for fighting the visible signs of skin aging. In this respect, the following techniques can namely be mentioned:
laser treatment for correcting the defects such as brown spots and fine wrinkles;
injections of botulinum toxin, hyaluronic acid or collagen;
peeling, which consists in removing a significant layer of the epidermis;
face-lift;
etc.
However, the currently existing techniques have a number of undesirable side effects and do not always permit to obtain satisfactory results.
Therefore, in recent years other strategies have been implemented by the laboratories in order to fight more effectively and more naturally the effects of skin aging and to try to slow down this process. It would also be necessary to find solutions for promoting skin tissue repair in case of injury.
In particular, the research on the use of oligosaccharides in the cosmetic compositions in order to reduce the signs of skin aging has been developed in recent years. Indeed, the sugar-based molecules are of particular interest, namely because of their moisturizing properties.
Thus, some patent applications relate to cosmetic compositions including oligosaccharides; in particular, patent application WO 99/24009 discloses namely the use of oligosaccharides containing xylose for increasing the synthesis of some compounds, the proteoglycans and the glycosaminoglycans. However, in this document, the xylose being used is a commercial product and not a natural product from the plant.
Patent document U.S. 2007/0293433 relates to an anti-aging composition including a plurality of oligosaccharides obtained by enzymatic hydrolysis of pectin, which is also a commercial product.
Also known, from patent application U.S. 2004/0097464, is a composition comprising a mixture of oligosaccharides, namely fucose, the latter being obtained by hydrolysis performed by a microorganism. The mixture of oligosaccharides described herein requires the implementation of a complicated method including a large number of steps, some of which require the action of pathogenic microorganisms, which must necessarily be removed from the mixture for cosmetic application.
In addition, the compositions described in the aforementioned documents do not have a sufficiently effective action, namely in the stimulation of skin repair for which few solutions exist in the prior art.
It is also known to use active substances extracted from plants, namely from flax (Linum usitatissimum), which plant belongs to the Linaceae family, for use in fighting aging signs.
Known from the international patent application WO 2008/043944 is thus the use of active substances extracted from flax for the preparation of a cosmetic composition for fighting skin aging, as well as a process for producing them.
However, the active substance obtained by the method described in this patent application includes a number of components, and in majority proteins having a molecular weight of less than 5,000 Da in high concentrations, monomeric sugars, uronic acids, carbohydrates, etc.
Therefore, this variety of components does not permit a targeted and specific action, and namely such a disparity of components does not permit to effectively promote the skin repair in case of damage to the skin.